Soundarya

Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Telugu cinema. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. as a second child to K. S. Sathyanarayana, a film producer and script writer, and Manjula. During the summer vacation after completing her 10th standard, she was offered a small role in Gandharva by the music director Hamsalekha, which she accepted. It quickly led to a career in acting, leading her to discontinue her Intermediate studies. On 27 April 2003, she married G. S. Raghu, a software engineer by profession. She was given the screen name Soundarya by Kannada film personality Kunigal Vasanth.

Career

Soundarya's first film was the Kannada film Baa Nanna Preethisu, directed by S. Siddalingaiah, released in April 1992, immediately followed by Gandharva in July 1992 which was a hit. She did lead roles in Kannada and went on to become a popular actress.

In Tamil, she got major acclaim for her debut film Ponnumani (1993), opposite Karthik for playing the role of a mentally disabled person.

Real commercial recognition came to her with Hello Brother (1994), directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana, in which she starred alongside Nagarjuna and Ramya Krishna. She has also collaborated with actor Karthik for Muthu Kaalai (1995). She played an award-winning role in Ammoru (1995), directed by Kodi Ramakrishna, starring alongside Ramya Krishna and Suresh and played the role of Bhavani, a devotee of Goddess Ammoru. She had eleven releases in 1995.

She continued her successful run with Amma Donga (1995), Sipayi (1996), Pavitra Bandham (1996), Maa Aayana Bangaram (1997), Dongaata (1997), Aaro Pranam (1997) and Osi Na Maradala (1997). She also starred alongside Rajinikanth in Arunachalam (1997), which became the highest-grossing film of 1997 in Tamil cinema. The industry regarded her to be the golden hand, as a former director's daughter, she always regarded the success not as a one-man show, but teamwork across 36 departments. but the film was shelved following her death. However the first 17 minutes are available to stream online.

Her last film was Apthamitra, a runaway hit starring Vishnuvardhan and Ramesh Arvind. The film won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada posthumously in 2004.

She worked with almost all the top directors, like Dasari Narayana Rao, K. Raghavendra Rao, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, A. Kodandarami Reddy, Priyadarshan, Girish Kasaravalli, S. V. Krishna Reddy, K. S. Ravikumar, Krishna Vamsi, Kodi Ramakrishna, E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Muthyala Subbaiah, Gunasekhar, P. Vasu, Muppalaneni Shiva, Bharathi Kannan, Sundar C.

Death On 17 April 2004, Soundarya died in an aircraft crash along with her brother Amarnath in Bengaluru.

The aircraft, a Cessna 180, took off at 11:05 a.m. and turned west before crashing on the campus of the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra of the University of Agricultural Sciences. It had reached a height of and, before achieving the required rate of climb speed, took a steep left turn, leading to a stall. It crashed into the ground nose down and burst into flames. B. N. Ganapathi, one of the two persons working on the experimental fields of the university, who rushed to the aircraft to save the occupants, said the plane wobbled before the crash.

Legacy Soundarya is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. She was known as a versatile actress, who played distinctive roles. Critics noted that she had a fine sense of characterisation. Due to this ability, Soundarya struck a chord with the Telugu audience despite being from Karnataka. Ammoru, Pavithra Bandham, Doni Saagali, Raja, Sooryavansham, and Dweepa are her best known films that saw her playing strong female characters.

Awards and nominations +List of awards and nominations Year Award Category Film Result 1995 Filmfare Awards South Best Actress – Telugu Ammoru Nandi AwardsSpecial Jury Award 1996 Best Actress Pavithra Bandham 1998 Karnataka State Film Awards Best Actress Doni Saagali Filmfare Awards South Best Actress – Telugu Anthapuram Nandi Awards Special Jury Award 2001 Best Actress - Tamil Thavasi 2002 Best Supporting Actress - Tamil Ivan 2003 National Film Awards Best Feature Film Dweepa Karnataka State Film Awards Best Actress Filmfare Awards South Best Actress – Kannada Best Film – Kannada 2004 Best Actress – Kannada Apthamitra (Posthumously awarded)